


Tallboy's Flu

by here_comes_the_moose



Category: Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: George Washington is a Dad, Kind of AU, M/M, Sick Ben, Sickfic, Vomiting, but Washington is a cool dad, but it's not mostly accepted as it is today, caleb is concerned, since homosexuality isn't illegal, washingdad and his washingsons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-12-13 23:55:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11771112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/here_comes_the_moose/pseuds/here_comes_the_moose
Summary: I noticed there was a lacking in Turn sickfics, so here's one.





	Tallboy's Flu

George Washington was having a good day. He woke up with his wonderful wife, Martha, by his side, he got to play with his dog for a bit, there was hardly any drama at camp today, and now he was going to eat an early dinner with his sons, excuse him, aides-de-camp, Alexander Hamilton, Lafayette, and Benjamin Tallmadge. 

"You seem to be in high spirits, sir," Billy Lee says, chuckling at how the usually serious general was humming a lullaby that Martha used to sing to the children to sleep with. George simply smiles at him before going into the dining room, where the three young men are waiting for him. However, after a few seconds, the general's smile drops a bit when he realizes that something is off.

Usually when the three young men were together, Ben was blushing as he stumbled over the French words Alexander and Lafayette were teaching him, Alexander was ranting to the other two about Charles Lee, Congress, or anything really, or Alexander was smirking that signature smirk after telling a joke that made Lafayette laugh and Ben blush. However, this was not the case today; while Alexander was smirking and Lafayette was laughing, Ben was lacking his usual blush and was instead only offering a faint smile. _I hope he's not ill._ George thinks to himself, heart clenching at the thought of any of the three in pain or discomfort. 

The three young men get serious and stand up straight and tall when he walks closer to them, and once he's a bit closer, he sees that Ben's face is not only pale, but also covered in a thin sheen of sweat. However, before he can think any more of it, Lafayette is wrapping his arms around his shoulders and kissing him on both cheeks, as he usually does whenever greeting anyone. George remembers his amusement at how red Hercules Mulligan went the first time Lafayette greeted him in such a manner and how John Laurens glared daggers when Lafayette greeted Alexander in the same fashion. George was certainly glad that they were all friends now, because he certainly didn't want to have to write to France explaining why the young Marquis had a black eye or something.

The four of them sit down as their meals are brought to the table and George chuckles at how Alexander's eyes go wide and how he practically starts drooling when he sees the steaming plate of thickly-sliced ham and baked potatoes, even though they have this meal quite often. George usually sees a similar expression on Ben's, but he is concerned when he only sees a wan smile and how he looks slightly more pale than just two minutes ago. 

The four of them say grace and then begin eating. George, trying to make conversation, then asks, "So what did you three do today?"

Lafayette looks as though he's about to start talking, but Alexander beats him to it, going a mile a minute as usual. "Oh, today Tallmadge and I wrote letters to Congress in the morning, then we had some lunch with Lafayette and some other men, and then we continued writing even more letters," Alexander says excitedly. "It's amazing how many letters Congress needs us to write to them just to get one point across, oh, not that we mind, sir."

George amusedly listens to what Alexander has to say before the latter continues to dig into his food with gusto. George then turns to Lafayette and asks, "And Lafayette, what did you do today?"

Lafayette then smiles, well even wider, since the young man is always smiling, and replies, "Today I trained with some of my men, they are doing very well, then we had lunch before training some more. The men are very quick to learn and are very kind and respectful to me."

George beams at Lafayette and then turns his attention to Ben; his smile drops a bit when he notices how Ben has barely touched his food and how whenever he takes a bite, he looks as though he's about to gag. "Benjamin, how are you today?" George asks, seeming to just be inquiring about his day, but trying to make sure he wasn't ill.

Ben smiles weakly before replying, "Oh, it's just as Hamilton said, sir. We wrote letters to Congress before and after we had lunch." George outwardly smiles, but inwardly frowns at how Ben dodged his real question about how he was feeling.

Ben hadn't really been feeling well since last night, but he had felt absolutely awful ever since he woke up this morning. Throughout the day, his head had felt dizzy and achy, his ears felt as though they were full of cotton, and his stomach felt slightly queasy. Alexander had looked at him suspiciously a few times today since he wasn't as vocal while writing as he usually was and because he had taken longer than usual to eat his lunch; he would not have eaten at all if not for the fact that he didn't want the food to go to waste, but thankfully it was only a light soup.

Now, however, he had this thick piece of ham and potatoes in front of him, and the rich smell of it was making him go from queasy to nauseous. And he knew that he had to eat all of it to avoid anyone thinking he wasn't feeling well, since this was one of his favorite dishes. Every bite felt like torture and he had to swallow back a gag a few times, but he finally finished his plate. He prayed that the general wouldn't be too suspicious of the fact that he was the last person to finish or ask him any questions about his health, since he hated lying to Washington. He wanted to just go back to his tent have Caleb cuddle him and maybe rub his stomach like he sometimes did when Ben wasn't feeling well, but he needed to go to this meeting with Washington, Lafayette, and Alexander, and he didn't want Washington to think he was weak or less of him.

He was desperately trying to pay attention to what Alexander was saying, but everything sounded far away as his head pounded and his stomach churned and lurched. He was aware of the cold sweat pricking at the back of his neck and building on his forehead, as well as the fact that he must be some shade of green, but he hoped that he didn't look as bad as he felt.

"Tallmadge. Tallmadge?" Lafayette calls.

Oh shoot, he had been asked a question, but he had no idea what was going on. He just felt terrible and had wanted the meeting to go by without anyone asking him anything or requiring him to open his mouth. 

"Tallmadge, son, are you alright?" Washington asks, face and voice full of concern.

"Sir, he doesn't look too good," Alexander says, looking slightly pale for some reason.

Just as Ben takes a deep breath and opens his mouth to talk, he lets out a loud, awful-feeling burp. He blushes and covers his mouth and is suddenly aware of how his stomach seems to have relaxed, but his chest is burning, and _oh no..._

His body suddenly and involuntarily jackknifes itself over before he starts projectile vomiting all over the floor of Washington's tent. Ben doesn't think he's ever felt this awful or embarrassed in his whole life as he suddenly throws up again, making awful retching sounds that he had prayed Washington would never have to hear him make. The room spins and he wishes the floor would just swallow him up right there, but just as he's about to fall forward, he feels strong arms holding him up and holding his hair out of his face. Ben squeezes his eyes shut in embarrassment when he realizes who it probably is.

"It's alright, son, just let it out," he hears Washington say softly as he rubs his large hand up and down his back as he throws up a little more. 

"Um, sir, I'm going to go get the doctor," Ben hears Alexander say, his voice shaking a bit. Ben doesn't think he's ever heard Alexander sound scared or uncertain before. _Alexander hadn't looked sick today._ Ben thinks to himself. _Maybe vomiting just makes him uncomfortable._

Ben takes a deep breath when he finally finishes vomiting and tries to stand up straight, only to find his legs are shaking. Washington then puts Ben's arm around his shoulder and walks him over to a chair and sits him down. Lafayette then wets a handkerchief and gives it to Ben to wipe his mouth. Ben is glad he does, because he probably would have actually died of embarrassment if someone else had wiped his mouth for him. However, that doesn't stop Lafayette from cupping his cheek and forehead.

"Mon ami, you have a fever," Lafayette says, frowning, before placing his hand back on Ben's forehead. "Merde, you're burning up."

"Let's bring him to the sick tent," Washington says, not wanting to risk anything. "Lafayette, help me lift him."

Lafayette and Washington put Ben's arms around them and lift him up. Ben's head throbs from the change in position and his vision swims, but after a few seconds, he's fine, so he doesn't say anything.


End file.
